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“Director Kennedy,” Ashani said as he extended his right hand, “it is good to see you again.”
Kennedy smiled. “I wish it was under better circumstances, Minister Ashani.”
“Please call me Azad.”
“Only if you’ll call me Irene.”
“Of course. Sit.” He motioned to the chair across from his. “May I get you something to drink?”
“Tea would be nice.” Kennedy pulled out her chair and sat.
Ashani looked to his security chief and nodded toward the barista behind the counter. He then joined Kennedy at the table. He studied her face for a moment and thought she looked at ease. Either she was very good at dealing with stress or she was a good actress. He guessed by the lack of worry lines around her eyes that she handled stress well.
Gesturing toward her face, Ashani said, “You did not have to wear the hijab on my account.”
Kennedy touched the black scarf she had draped over her head and shoulders. “I don’t mind it. I wore one as a girl.”
“You lived abroad?” Ashani was playing dumb, as he knew that she had.
“Yes. Cairo, Damascus, and then Beirut.”
Ashani nodded and acted surprised.
“But then again…I’m sure you knew about Beirut.”
“What about Beirut?” he said with a straight face.
“I did not come here to open old wounds, but I think it’s very important that we be honest with each other if we are going to find a way out of this mess.”
Ashani hesitated and then said, “I would agree.”
“Then I find it hard to believe that as Iran’s minister of intelligence, you didn’t already know that my father was killed in the U.S. Embassy bombing in Beirut back in nineteen eighty-three.” Kennedy would have liked to have added that the bombing had been carried out by Hezbollah and sponsored by Iran, but there was no need to state the obvious. Ashani knew who was behind the carnage, and he knew Kennedy knew as well.
Ashani took a sip of tea and then delicately said, “I’m sorry about your father. I do not like all this violence. Too many innocent people have been killed.”
Ashani’
s man placed a cup of steaming tea in front of Kennedy and backed away. Kennedy picked up the cup with both hands and said, “Far too many.”
“There are many in my country,” Ashani said while putting both arms on the table and leaning closer to Kennedy, “who question how evil the U.S. really is. You have rid us of both Saddam and the Taliban. As you well know, we Shia and Sunni do not like each other. The only time we stop fighting is when someone like you gets in the middle.”
“Sad but true.”
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence, and then Ashani said, “We have a situation here that I am afraid could spin out of control. There are many people in my government who want blood for the destruction of the Isfahan facility. Our Persian pride demands it.”
“Pride can be a very destructive thing.”
Ashani snorted. “Yes. You are right, but I’m afraid there are few people in my government who see it that way. They want someone to pay for this offense.”
“Then they should crack down on the insurgents and leave us and Israel out of it. Or are they too afraid to admit they have an internal problem?”
“I did not come here to discuss the inner workings of my government,” Ashani said a bit more seriously. “I was invited to listen to you and find a mutually agreeable solution to this mess.”
Kennedy sipped her tea and then said, “President Alexander is flirting with the idea of opening limited diplomatic relations.”
“Interesting. What is the incentive for my government?”
“You have twenty to thirty percent inflation; you import forty percent of your oil, even though you have the second-highest oil reserves of any country behind Saudi Arabia; and your economy is about to collapse. You have an internal revolt brewing that like before will be met with a crackdown from the religious extremists. Although this time it is less certain they will succeed.” Kennedy stopped to see if Ashani wanted to argue any of these points. He didn’t, so she continued.